Sunday 12 January 2014

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
5x02 (10/1/14 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Sherlock
3x03 His Last Vow [season finale]
Well well well, that was neat: "ah, there's the cliffhanger... oh no, there's the cliffhanger... no, THERE'S the cliffhanger!"
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Veronica Mars
3x07 Of Vice and Men

Fiction

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Volume I: Mr Norrell, Chapters 1-4

Been meaning to read this for years (I have a nice box set of the novel in its three volumes as individual paperbacks (apparently 'worth' over £450!) which is from 2005, so about 9 years to be precise), and the TV version that's on the way has inspired me to get started.

I'm only 61 pages into its 1,004-page length, but it's great so far -- enticing, intriguing, and surprisingly funny and witty, in a very dry way. The adaptation has a lot to live up to already, but if it can it will be very exciting.

this week on 100 Films

Firstly, this week on 100 Films in a Year saw me announce a new year of What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?, my challenge-within-a-challenge to watch a film a month that I really should have seen by now.

You can learn about this year's selection here, including what the 12 films are, as well as the ridiculous process used to select them.


Otherwise, only archive reviews were (re-)published this week, but there were three of those...


Let the Right One In (2008)
Let the Right One In isn’t your typical vampire movie. If you’ve somehow managed to avoid hearing anything about it in that time, I encourage you to watch it before reading more — it’s hard to discuss any of it without spoiling at least some. Knowing it’s a vampire movie is too much, to be frank — it’d be grand to be able to see this completely cold.
Read more here.


Let Me In (2010)
it’s so much the same that one’s thoughts naturally gravitate to the occasions where it does differ. This may be doing the film a disservice, but I’m tempted to say “serves them right” for remaking it so damn fast and making it so damn similar. Some have asserted that it’s the same film for those who can’t handle reading subtitles. It’s not that bad, but you can see where they’re coming from.
Read more here.


Make/Remake: Let the Right Me In
The most recent example of this speedy-remake phenomenon is Swedish vampire drama Let the Right One In, remade by the recently-relaunched Hammer Films as Let Me In. Or, if you prefer, “re-adapted”, as they’re both based on a 2004 novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist. A film of a Swedish novel produced by a British company set in America with a US cast & crew? Globalised indeed.
Read more here.


More next Sunday.